A moment on the lips...

Well, I have reached the end of my second week off university and it honestly has flown by. I've handed in another one of my assignments (a synopsis for a novel extract for teens) and have my other two assignments (said novel extract and a biography) all researched, planned out, and ready to escape my mind and be made immortal on paper. I'm not particularly enjoying my "novel" for teens as, to me, it's boring. I am not a "young adult", and so, to me, the things I read when I was 13 no longer appeal to me. I tried to make the book relevant somehow, and so my story centres around a girl in her last year of high school who is struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality. It's not bad but it's a bit...meh. My biography, though, is going to be so interesting to write, I can tell already. I'm writing about my nan's childhood, spent in a Maltese orphanage, throughout WW2, (during which Malta was one of the most bombed places in the world). She's told me so much about what life was like back then (over cups of tea and cake) and she really does have such an inspiring story that I'm glad I am going to be able to tell.

So what else have I been doing? Well, I went to Bedfordshire for three days with my boyfriend to stay with my family. The poor thing had to not only meet my aunties and uncles for the first time, but also had to endure my mum getting ridiculously drunk on the first night and forcing him to dance with her to an endless stream of Motown. That aside though, it was a lovely weekend. We ate until we popped, stayed up late, went on walks in the country, and had a mooch round antique shops and charity shops (I think he spent longer looking at books than me, which made me a proud girlfriend haha). I loved it, and was so glad that he could finally meet everybody.

Since I've been back I've been eating way too much (but it's fine because I'm doing the squat challenge yay) and this has included an afternoon tea at The Hilton with my best friend Heather. We were immediately greeted, addressed as "Madam," and had our chairs pulled out for us, before being given unlimited tea (we ignored the exhaustive list of herbal teas and opted for traditional breakfast tea), a glass of Champagne, and a tower (!) of food. We chatted to each other, eating finer sandwiches, scones with jam and cream and cakes, before immediately regretting our greed and having to wash it all down with a strong Americano to try and ease our bulging stomachs. Thankfully, because Heather is a doll and subscribes to Groupon, we got the whole thing for £12.50 each when it should have been around £27 each! The glass of Champagne itself was supposed to be £10! Ever the bargain hunters, we left feeling pleased with our purchase, and tea at The Hilton is definitely something I'd recommend, especially if you want to feel like you're on the cast of Made in Chelsea.

However, my posh food with Heather doesn't end there. Last week, she took me to Jamie's Italian. It was the first time I'd ever been, and I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't anything like I thought it would be! First off, the price. I figured it'd be way out of my price range, but I managed to buy two courses for £20 (calamari with lemon mayonnaise followed by a gorgeous seafood spaghetti packed with clams, mussels, squid & king prawns, mmm) and Heather treated us to berry Prosecco and a bottle of wine with our meal because she's extravagant like that. Honestly though, I cannot recommend Jamie's enough. The mains were affordable and interesting (chicken liver and rabbit anyone?) and the restaurant itself is by far the most beautiful place I have ever dined in. It used to be a bank, so it's marbles floors, high ceilings and stone walls are really something to behold, and the toilets are old vaults. When you have a wee, you are actually sitting in what used to be somebody's vault! It is like being in Gringotts,

We then went for a (£8) drink (on Heather) at Rosso, which was another indulgent experience. Rosso is filled with business men wearing Rolex watches, there was a man in a bow tie singing Dean Martin and the building itself also reeks of luxury. We only stayed for one drink, because by that time my conscience couldn't take any more of Heather's generosities, but it was really worth the visit.

This week ended with a trip to Red Hot World Buffet with my flatmate Becky. Not quite as upmarket as my other trips out, but still bloody brilliant. We weren't impressed that they had hiked up the prices for the duration of the Easter holidays (from £8.50 to £10) and stopped giving student discount (20%) on Fridays, but we sucked it up and proceeded to stuff our faces. Usually, when I go to RHWB I fill up on Chinese starters, so this time, I had a plan. In between each course, I drank a pint of water, and this enabled me to eat three plates (still not that impressive, I know). I had pasta salad, sweet and sour chicken, Thai red curry with squid, chicken in black bean sauce and Chicken Korma (not something I usually get but Becky tempted me), as well as a disgusting amount of breaded scallops and spring rolls. RHWB is great but if you're going to go, I would definitely recommend going in the evening, as there is a lot more variety on offer. I was bloody miffed that I couldn't stuff my face with sushi as is usually the case.

In other news? Not much. I finished A Street Cat Named Bob and began Red Dragon, became addicted to Geordie Shore and got to go to my favourite club in the world, Venue, with all my best friends.